Church Land Sale

Back in 2022 a committee was set up look at the renovation of the presbytery.

In August of that year, we held a number of open home days to give parishioners the opportunity to go through the building and to offer their ideas and suggestions.

All agreed that an upgrade to the presbytery and office was needed, and long overdue, so the committee headed by the parish priest at the time, Fr Dennis Nacorda, approved for this project to proceed.

But due to the disruption of the covid mandates and that the committee was not clear and in agreement on how to fund the project - as this was going to cost a significant amount of money the project was put on hold.

The situation with the presbytery is now something we can no longer ignore.

The dynamics of our parish has changed, and we are now needing to house at least three priests.

Our priests need to be housed in accommodation that is suitable for their needs in terms of comfort, health, safety and privacy.

For the parish to deliver on this project and without the parish incurring a large financial debt which we cannot afford - Archbishop Paul has given us his approval to sell a block of land - about a hectare of ground located at the southern end of the school grounds as indicated on the map below by the red lines.

This has been done in consultation with Maria Lyne, the school's principal, and the school’s property management team.

In appreciation to the school for their good will and support for the project we propose to gift an area of land where the tennis courts are at the moment to the school for its own future development.

This area of ground is indicated on the map by the yellow lines.

The next step will be for us to get the land surveyed ready for sale and a valuation done.

This will mean some large upfront costs to the parish that the finance committee and the parish operations team have agreed to make available.

Any donations to help the parish out with these upfront costs will be gratefully received. 

What is the risk?

As you know selling property at the moment is difficult – we won’t sell at any price and will want to get the true value for the land - so we may need to be patient, but there is some real optimism that the property market will start picking up this year - Horowhenua is growing fast and there will be demand for good affordable housing.

This block of land is in a prime location - close to town and services - and being a large clear hectare block is a rare opportunity for any property developer.

The sale of this land should keep our faith community in good stead well into the future. 

Harry Bennik

St. Joseph’s Parish Finance Chairperson